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Drank (brewed) “grandpa style” in a gaiwan. Yabao comes off as having a light sweet, somewhat floral with honeysuckle and pine notes to it.

Gongfu brewed in a shiboridashi . This is a lighter shou puerh which is smooth with forest notes. As in it is nowhere close to what most people would call earthy but has just enough to give it a subtle complexity. Personally I enjoy the cake version of this tea more than the loose leaf version. It is hard to place what exactly is different so I wonder if it is a matter of the loose tea being kept in a bag vs the cake which was exposed to air through the paper wrapper & cloth bag the whole time.

Gongfu brewed, Moonlight Sonata has a smooth sweet taste that is a cross between being floral and fruity. It also does very well with numerous infusions. All in all it makes an excellent light evening tea to drink at night.

Gongfu brewed this tea gets an amazing amount of infusions compared to most shou puerhs. This is a light, sweet and smooth mellow shou with good mineral notes that I normally associate with wuyi oolong.

This matcha is a bit lighter and sweeter with a more grassy fresh taste to it compared to the other Ito En grocery store matcha.

This is the first matcha that I have had so I do not have any basis to compare it with other matchas. The matcha comes off to me as a strong green tea that is surprisingly smooth. I am only able to whip up much of a froth in the bowl but I am not sure if it has to do with the quality or my lack of experience in making matcha.

Gongfu brewed in a shiboridashi. This is a lighter shou puerh which is smooth with forest notes. As in it is nowhere close to what most people would call earthy but has just enough to give it a subtle complexity.

Gongfu brewed this tea is very unique as it is the first chocolate puerh which I can honestly say is really good. The light bodied puerh base blends nicely with the raw Cocoa Nibs with a smooth chocolate flavor that matches the “gongfu curve” of the puerh nicely. Along with the puerh stuffed mandarin oranges, this is the only other flavored puerh that I find good enough to reorder.

This is a surprisingly light herbal tea considering that it is turmeric, ginger and black pepper. So a gentle double dose turmeric with black pepper which is said to help its absorption rate and ginger which are both herbs that are said to be very beneficial. While a little weak on its own, I can see it having potential for brewing with a black or green teabag.

Pure Mind Blend has a nice flavor of blended herbs that is difficult to really explain, beyond that it is gentle. Overall a peaceful blend of herbs that have a calming and centering nature. Personally I would consider this a good blend for settling down for prayer and or meditation.